Nigel Whittle
R&D Specialist, R&D Programme, UK Trade & Investment
Nigel Whittle has over 20 years experience in the biotechnology industry, in a range of scientific, commercial and managerial roles. He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University with a degree in Biochemistry, and went on to complete a PhD in groundbreaking cancer research at the Cancer Research UK Laboratories in London. After a short spell at Genentech Inc> in the US, he joined Celltech as a founder member of the antibody engineering group, and was later recruited by Cantab Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, UK) to head the Molecular Immunology Group, developing novel antibodies, immunomodulators and therapeutic vaccines. Later, as VP of Project Management, he was responsible for overall company project development, taking a number of products into Phase I and II Clinical Trials. After helping to implement the successful merger with Xenova, Nigel Whittle left to study for an MBA at the Judge Business School at Cambridge University>. Subsequently he joined PA Consulting Group, where he worked with a range of companies, from small biotechs to large international pharma companies, to provide business support for licensing, product valuation, due diligence and strategy development. He was recruited by the IPGroup to drive the programme of technology commercialization from Kings College London. He represented IPGroup on the Boards of three life-science start-ups, including Proximagen Neurosciences, which he helped to float on the AIM in March 2005, raising over 13 million to progress its development programme. He was subsequently retained by the company as an independent Non-Executive Director. After leaving IPGroup Nigel accepted a position within the DTI as an International Technology Promoter to identify and facilitate the transfer of innovative technology and knowledge into UK companies from Australia. This led to a number of significant partnerships in diverse sectors including regenerative medicine, oncology, noveldiagnostics and industrial biotechnology. He is now employed within the UKTI R&D Programme to facilitate collaborations between established overseas pharmaceutical companies and R&D organizations in the UK. He works with a portfolio of companies in the USA, Japan and India, and has been instrumental in brokering deals and procuring investments worth several million pounds.